Apologies and Update (sort of!)

Over a month has passed since we last wrote on this blog, time sure does fly. Only excuse I can offer is that me and full time work are not a great combination.

So what has been tickling our ear lobes since July? The latest Rilo Kiley CD 'Under the Blacklight' arrived earlier on this week. I'm still reserving my judgement on that one. Currently on the fourth listen and we're only just starting to like it. Hopefully it won't be another catastrophe of Cassadaga-esque proportions.

Also, having renewed my acquaintance with Fan Forum about a month ago, myself and four others on the Indie Music Discussion thread have been compiling our own CD. Each of us picked 5 songs, everyone else voted for their favourite 3, and these get onto the CD. We're currently arguing over Keane and Idlewild, and whether or not Talking Heads or The Strokes should go first. It's not all my cup of tea (I got outvoted on the damned Arctic Monkeys) but it certainly has introduced me to a couple of good bands which I will no doubt waffle on about in due time. The CD cover is now in production - now all I need is for my CD writer to miraculously fix itself so I can burn the thing.

The Early Learnings Centre

One name getting a lot of mention in recent blogs is that of young Eugene McGuinness. After hearing many good things, I decided it was high time I investigated for myself. I was not disappointed. Although some have grouped the 21 year old singer song-writer with the likes of Jamie T and Jack Penate, I would like to think he is rather, well, better than them. For a start, although born in London, McGuinness was raised in Ireland. So thankfully he doesn't have that terrible 'fake' Cockney thing going on that so irritates poor Stu's ears. And mine. In Bird on a Wire there are hints of Turin Brakes' Gale Paridjanian, Frank Turner (if someone stood on his foot), or even Mr Modest Mouse himself, Isaac Brock. The chorus of A Child Lost in Tesco (we've all been there mate, in my case it was British Home Stores in Bournemouth and I'm sure that, 22 years on, my mother has still not forgiven me) sounds almost Adam & The Ants-esque. And in case you were wondering, yes I do consider that a good thing.

Eugene is playing at this rather lovely looking Drowned In Sound bash. The mini album The Early Learnings of Eugene McGuinness is released in a fortnight (6th August) and you can order the single Monsters Under The Bed here.

Tracklisting:

High Score

Monsters Under The Bed

Vampire Casino

Bold Street

A Child Lost In Tesco ::mp3::

Vela

Madeleine

A Girl Whom My Eyes Shine For But My Shoes Run From

As a little extra incentive here's another MP3:

Bird On A Wire ::mp3::

And also the excellent Jamie and the Magic Torche style video to Monsters Under The Bed:

Playlist # 5 : Mucky Truck Festival

Ho hum when will the summer start? Despite all the excitement leading up to Truck Ten disappointment poured down on us (and all over Steventon) and the festival was postponed. Oh well the show must go on... so we got our wellies and tent out and danced all night to the new Truck Festival playlist.

Danger Of The Water - The Futureheads
Why Does It Always Rain On Me? - Travis
Cloudbusting - Kate Bush
Help! - The Beatles
Wave Upon Wave Upon Wave - Biffy Clyro
Train Under Water - Bright Eyes
Let's Get Out Of This Country - Camera Obscura ::mp3::
Some Loud Thunder - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
Dorothy Dreams Of Tornadoes - Cursive
Sit And Listen To The Rain - Ryan Adams
The Storm You Never Knew About Blew Half The Island Into The Sea - Stapleton
And It Rained All Night - Thom Yorke
Let It Rain - Tilly And The Wall
Float On - Modest Mouse
Fix The Sky A Little - 65 Days Of Static
Raindrops Keep Falling On my Head - B.J Thomas
Weather Reports - Bright Eyes ::mp3::
Stress On The Sky - Biffy Clyro
Singin' In The Rain - Gene Kelly
Loud Storms - Dragonflies Draw Flame
Let The River In - Radical Face
This Weather - Patrick Wolf
Under The Weather - Feeder

Why Does It Always Rain On Me?

Truck Festival is off! Biblical style downpours have caused massive flooding on site. Boo and hiss! But fear not, 'tis being rescheduled for 22nd September. Everyone start praying now that the rain stays off then! Here's the official line:

TRUCK FESTIVAL CANCELLED :(
It is with great regret that Steventon Festivals and Truck Foundation are
forced to announce the postponement of this year's Truck festival. Much of the
site is under several feet of water and the Ginge Brook has completely
overflowed its banks, leaving all the camping, parking and audience areas
underwater and dangerous. We already have numerous acts on site as well as
tshirts, programmes, CDs and the rest and we are only doing this as an absolute
last resort.

WE ARE RESCHEDULING :) the event at the same location on the weekend of
the 22nd September with all tickets remaining valid, and we would like to
encourage ticket holders to come to that event rather than seek refunds, as it
will make it more likely that we can stay afloat financially.
Those who
bought physical tickets who wish for a refund should post their tickets and
return address details by registered post to: TRUCK, The Old Stables East,
Church Lane, Steventon, OX136SW clearly marked 'ticket refund'. This offer is
only valid if tickets are received by us by Saturday 28th July 2007.
Those
who bought online tickets from Wegottickets.com should contact them to arrange a
refund according to their terms.
We would like to emphasise again that we'd
like all of you to come to the rescheduled event if at all possible and we can
pretend this biblical flood never happened!

Live Review : Bright Eyes @ Shepherd's Bush Empire 03/07/07

I won't profess to being an expert at writing reviews but I figured this one is kind of overdue. The gig was over a week ago now, and Mr Journalism is always too tired when he gets home from work. So here goes.

The first of two nights at Shepherd's Bush Empire for Mr Oberst and friends. Back in April when I ordered these tickets I still actually liked Cassadaga a bit. Now I've seriously gone off it and the weather last Tuesday seemed to realise this. After getting caught in the most ridiculous summer storm en route we arrived, rather soggy and disheveled just before Bright Eyes took to the stage. Maybe this added nothing to my enjoyment of the evening, but the lack of atmosphere in the place certainly didn't help either. Maybe I'm just so used to the craziness of, say, Biffy Clyro fans that I expected more anticipation from the crowd, but I definitely thought there would be more noise. A great cheer greets the band as they come on stage, and the usual cheers and applause after each perfectly executed song, but there was something lacking, both on stage and in the audience. The crowd seemed to be so in awe of the Nebraskan boy wonder that they just stared stupified at him in between each song, waiting breathless to see what would come next. And what inevitably would come next was yet another song from Cassadaga. OK so you would expect this, most bands do rely heavily on their newest material when playing live shows, but the Bright Eyes back catalgue is so extensive I had hoped for a bit more of the good old stuff. Old favourites like First Day Of My Life and The Calendar Hung Itself were buried so deeply among Cassadaga bobbins that some older fans (not just me) felt Conor was maybe just going through the motions. Minimal chat between songs and then straight into another new one. The highlight of the set was definitely the encore of Gold Mine Gutted, Southern State and At The Bottom Of Everything. But even that final track, so simply written, lacked that special live flourish that makes Bright Eyes so special. In fact, most of the set was so polished you could almost believe it wasn't live at all. Which is one of the reasons why I'm so anti-Cassadaga. Bring back wobbly voiced, acoustic Conor! All in all, quite a disappointing evening.

Set List:
Clairaudients
Hot Knives
Middleman
First Day Of My Life
Four Winds
Make A Plan To Love Me
No One Would Riot For Less
The Calendar Hung Itself
Soul Singer In A Session Band
I Won't Ever Be Happy Again
Lime Tree
I Believe In Symmetry
Gold Mine Gutted
Southern State
At The Bottom Of Everything

Monster Mash Up

Although myself and Stu were a little disconcerted with the whole idea of a Mash Up special on Eamonn's Corner this Monday just gone, some of them suprisingly work! Check out the Bloc Party, Police, Eminem one. You can find the show's playlist and also follow the link to listen to Monday's show on the newly set up blog here.

Truck-a-doodle-do!

Truck 10 is now only 18 days away and they only announced the line up last Friday. I don't know any other festival that has ever been able to keep their line up secret for that long. But Truck is just the kind of festival that previous punters will want to go to regardless of who's playing. Taking place 21st and 22nd July on a farm in the beautiful Oxfordshire countryside, Truck is such a welcome relief from the mainstream dirge of Reading & Leeds, or even Glastonbury. Although the last 2 years have seen headlining sets from The Magic Numbers and The Futureheads, probably the most famous act on this year's bill is Glenn Tilbrook, followed closely by Idlewild. Tickets sold out in a matter of hours when they went on sale in April, and this was without anyone having a single clue as to who would be appearing. So what exactly is it about Truck that makes it so appealing? Many things actually, for instance the lovely setting, the real ale and cider, ice cream made by a local vicar, the most amazing pasta salads you will ever eat (can you tell I'm writing this at lunchtime?), and of course the focus on lesser known, or local bands. I think the best thing about Truck, though, is the atmosphere. At bigger festivals you always get some idiot trying to push over the portaloos, or angry metallers causing havoc when you're trying to enjoy Elbow. The last time I went to Reading was 3 years ago, and having been 4 years in a row I thought I was used to it. I was wrong. It was hell! I spent most of the weekend in a complete panic because the other punters all seemed so big and aggressive! Truck is a small festival and it looks after it's small people (like me) very well.

So onto that elusive line up. At first glance, not quite so excitement inducing as last year's but then that's the beauty of Truck. It's a great place to find new bands.

Saturday 21st
Idlewild
Brian Jonestown Massacre
Goldrush
Buck 65
Six Nation State
iLiketrains
The Research
Frank Turner
Jonquil
I Was A Cub Scout

Sunday 22nd
Electric Soft Parade
Glenn Tilbrook
Winnebago Deal
Oppenheimer
Pull Tiger Tail
Euros Childs
Andy Yorke (Thom's brother)
Luke Smith
Youthmovies
WinterKids
Blood Red Shoes


Click on a band name to visit their myspace page and listen to some tracks.

For the full line up visit the Truck website here.

Album Round Up 2007 part 1

The weather might fool you but next week it's July. So, seeing as we're halfway through the year now (sort of!), here's my round up of the best albums of 2007 so far. I started off trying to make a top 6 (one for each month kind of thing) but there's been so many great albums out that I've ended up with 12. So you get twice as many noew... bargainous! Plus a couple that didn't quite make the grade, and some more to look forward for the next 6 months.

Wincing The Night Away by The Shins (January) ::buy::

If you can ignore the daft title, this album is amazing. Most of the songs have quite a summery feel about them, which was a welcome relief from the horrible wind and rain at the beginning of the year. Having said that, it wouldn't go amiss this week either.
Top track: Australia ::mp3::

This Is My Ship by DARTZ! (February) ::buy::

Ridiculous lyrics, great indie music. One of the highlights of last September's Small Town America all dayer was Dartz's equipment packing up and them inviting everyone up on stage to dance along to the cowbells. Genius. It was so hard picking the best track off here, they're all ace. All together now... "You have three sides but you're not a triangle!"
Top track: Pregos triangolos ::mp3::

Lynn Teeter Flower by Maria Taylor (March) ::buy::

A great follow up to debut 11:11, Lynn Teeter Flower is an album bursting with beautiful melodies. Maria's heavenly voice and brilliant songwriting combine to make an amazing LP. Lovely lovely lovely. Oh, and there's a track co-written with and featuring Conor Oberst, yay!

Top track: A good start ::mp3::

Ghost by Radical Face (March) ::buy::

Released on Morr Music, this concept album was a long time coming and even now I think you can only get in on import in the UK. According to Ben Cooper he started writing the songs 3 years ago. I'm so glad he put them out eventually, there's some beautiful music on here.

Top track: Wrapped in piano strings ::mp3::

Neon Bible by Arcade Fire (March) ::buy::

I think all the superlatives have been exhausted by now. I shall just content myself by saying this album is obviously not as good as Funeral, it never could have been. But it still has some great tracks, and any band brave enough to include a pipe organ has to be worth listening to.

Top track: Keep the car running ::mp3::

American Doll Posse by Tori Amos (April) ::buy::

Tori's wonderful weirdness never ceases to amaze me. In this new album she takes on 5 different personas for the first half of a staggering 23-strong tracklisting.

Top track: Beauty of speed ::mp3::



We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank by Modest Mouse (April) ::buy::

If you'd told me beginning of last year that Johnny Marr would be in Modest Mouse I'd have asked you what you'd been smoking. Another album full of strangely odd-but-good shouty singing from Isaac Brock.

Top track: Dashboard ::mp3::

Stars On The Wall by The Go Find (April) ::buy::

These Belgian electro-indie funsters will surely never write another song as sublime as Over The Edge (from Miami) but this LP on Germany's Morr Music is great to chill out to or have a wee boogy with a nice glass of wine. I should know, I've tried it.

Top track: Dictionary ::mp3::

Fourteen Autumns & Fifteen Winters by The Twilight Sad (May) ::buy::

I was introduced to this band's music with the words "they're as Scottish as rain and very very good" (thanks Dave). He should've added haggis, single malt and Robert Burns to that list. I've not heard an accent this great since early Arab Strap... and I don't even like Arab Strap. But this I do like.

Top track: That summer at home I had become the invisible boy ::mp3::

Puzzle by Biffy Clyro (June) ::buy::

Number 2 in the album charts? Biffy? Are you sure?! Cripes, the hairy rockers have surpassed themselves this time. This is surely the most un-mainstream album that will grace the shelves of Tesco petrol stations this year. Watch out for new single Folding Stars, its a tad.... epic. Read Stu's review here.

Top track: Get f**ked stud ::mp3::

Contact! Contact! by Tellison (June) ::buy::

Tellison are amazing. Fact. If you order the album from the Gravity DIP website you might even get a free pencil if you're quick! Stonking indie pop with truly wonderful 3 way harmonies that would make The Beach Boys weep for joy. Or something.

Top track: Henry went to Paris ::mp3::

Easy Tiger by Ryan Adams (June) ::buy::

The last addition to my round up as it only came out last week. Mr Adams has done it again. Yet another great album full of bittersweet singalong anthems and humalong melodies. Lovely stuff. And a bit of Sheryl Crow for good measure. Or is that bad measure....

Top track: Everybody knows ::mp3::

As always, mp3s included for sampling only. If you like what you hear, follow the 'buy' links and spend some pennies.

Those albums that didn't quite make it for one reason or another:

Backlash Cop by Jetplane Landing - With this only being Jetplane's 3rd album, there was a lot of anticipation in this house. Then we got the album through the post and proceeded to listen to a 40 year old balding Irishman doing funk. Odd to say the least.

Cassadaga by Bright Eyes - Much as it pains me to say this about my beloved Bright Eyes, this is the biggest disappointment of the year so far. On my first listen I thought it was OK, but after a few I realised how awful some of the songs are. Sorry Conor but I'm not impressed!

Release the Stars by Rufus Wainwright - I'm probably being a bit unfair on poor old Rufus here, the only reason I've included this in the 'could do better' category is because I haven't had time to really listen to it properly yet. Might be able to say something nicer about it at the end of the year in my Album Round Up 2007 Part 2.

Ones to still look forward to:

Planet of Ice by Minus the Bear - follow up to the stonking Menos El Oso, out 20th August.

Under the Blacklight by Rilo Kiley - also out 20th August (start saving those pennies now!), each track on the band's fourth album is written about a different character. Two song titles listed on NME.com are Money Maker and Breaking Up. If the other 3 albums are anything to go by (and Jenny Lewis' solo Rabbit Fur Coat) this promises to be a great indie pop album full of wonderful singalongs. And of course it gives Stu an excuse to look at lots of pictures of the lovely Jenny. Lucky him!

Help Wanted Nights by The Good Life - As reported here, Tim Kasher & co release their fourth LP in September. It's a veritable autumnal Saddle Creek fest!

Playlist # 4 : Eamonn's Corner

Eamonn'and Stu on Forest FM last night (Monday 25th June 2007) - Festival Special

Central Reservation - Beth Orton
Saturday Superhouse - Biffy Clyro
Keep the Cosmic Trigger Happy - Super Furry Animals
Boys Don't Cry - Idlewild (live)
Idea Track - Idlewild
Mudslide - The Bluetones
Teenage Kicks - The Undertones
We've Got Everything - Modest Mouse
Fell in Love With a Girl - White Stripes
Paranoid Android - Radiohead (live at South Park)
Stephen Malkmus
Beautiful Day - U2
Loaded - Primal Scream

Review: Biffy Clyro - Puzzle

Entering the top 40 album charts at number 2 is a massive achievement for Biffy Clyro but I have to admit whilst the fan base grew and chart potential mounted this was a little unexpected. It is easy to see that Puzzle is the most accessible album the hairy Scottish trio have written yet it still maintains a sense of scariness for the mainstream. Okay Biffy have lost the naivety of Blackened Sky and a bit of the quirkiness of Vertigo of Bliss and Infinity Land, but elements of these albums are still apparent in tracks like Everything's A Problem..., Semi Mental and Who's Got A Match. Biffy have managed to dilute thier crazy lyrics about jaggy snakes and other gubbins whilst maintaining the occasional radio friendly track. Puzzle may take a couple of listens for the obssesive Biffy fans but it is a brilliant album full of hidden gems such as As Dust Dances and the brilliantly titled Get Fucked Stud. Apart from the disappointing Love Has A Diameter Biffy have come up with yet another wonderful album, mon them indeed!!

Easy Tiger Burning Bright

Ryan Adams releases his 9th solo studio album Easy Tiger on the 25th June (26th in the US). It's been kept fairly quiet somehow, with hardly any leaks at all. I have, however, managed to get my mitts on a couple of two minute long track samples. Don't let the fact that Two features Sheryl Crow put you off, it's a great tune.

::mp3:: Everybody Knows - Ryan Adams

::mp3:: Two - Ryan Adams

Pre-order Easy Tiger on Amazon

Befriend Ryan on myspace

A couple of other tunes that have caught my ear this week:

::mp3:: Fire Fire Fire - Dappled Cities Fly

Taken from the Sydney based five-piece's second album Granddance. The album has not, to my knowledge, been released in the UK but you can order the Australian import from Amazon.

::mp3:: Portrait Of A Summer Theif - Sounds Under Radio

The only unsigned band to be featured on the soundtrack for Spiderman 3. Slightly odd but there you go. Go say hello on myspace.

Only One Word Comes To Mind

And that word (OK, three actually) is MON THE BIFFY!

Next week sees new albums from two of my very favouritest bands - Jetplane Landing and Biffy Clyro. Seeing as I've already waffled about JL's Backlash Cop I thought it's high time I give some space over to those three very hairy lads from Glasgow. Puzzle is Biffy's 4th album, and it's official: Biffy have gone epic. They will surely hit the big time with this one. Having only heard the Jimmy Eat World-type singles Saturday Superhouse and Living Is A Problem Because Everything Dies so far it seems premature for me to comment. I'm currently trying to recruit Stu as ASTPTT's resident reviewer-type-bod, so hopefully we'll have some proper journalism on here as of next week. All I shall say now is that as much as the slightly disturbing Viking-esque Coheed & Cambria style background vocals on Living Is A Problem... remind me of something out of the Harry Potter films, this is a great leap forward for Biffy.

Puzzle tracklisting

1. Living is a problem because everything dies

2. Saturday superhouse

3. Who's got a match

4. As dust dances / Two fifteenths

5. Whole child ago

6. Coversation is

7. Now I'm Everyone

8. Semi mental / Four fifteenths

9. Love has a diameter

10. Get fucked stud

11. Folding stars

12. Nine fifteenths

13. Machines

::mp3:: Living is a problem because everything dies - Biffy Clyro

BC official website - hear previews of tracks from Puzzle and see the fab TV advert for said LP.

Buy Puzzle on Amazon

A Big Myth Take

Phew. After a week full of finishing essays, exams and being turned down for jobs there's just enough time to post a few of my musical discoveries for this week.

First up, Cats on Fire are good on 3 counts: 1. They have a very silly name, 2. They are from Finland (Scandinavia is good), 3. The lead singer sounds just like Morrissey in this song! Taken from their debut album The Province Complains it's a lovely little ditty which I have been boogying round the lounge to when I'm supposed to be doing my referencing or some such twaddle. I do believe they are playing some dates here in the UK soon, check them out on the official website. Also, info here on the album's distribution.

::mp3:: Born Again Christian

Next I shall again demonstrate my unerring ability to catch onto bands very late. !!! (Chk Chk Chk) have just released their Myth Takes album, which is probably their 5th or 6th but at least I've found them now. The title track is indeed ace and the official website has some rather intruiging artwork.

::mp3:: Myth Takes

::buy:: Myth Takes (album)

I've also been trying to get my head around the new Bjork album, Volta. As you would expect from her it's very very odd, but in a good way. I think. Put it this way, it's growing on me.

An Album Of The Year?

It's horribly grey outside, so what better to brighten the day than discovering news of an up-coming album from Tim Kasher's side-project-gone-doolally The Good Life. According to Pitchfork the fourth album Help Wanted Nights is pencilled in for a September release. Tim has apparently upped sticks and moved to LA with a screenplay, also entitled Help Wanted Nights. As if the man doesn't have enough to do already. No word yet on what the album will sound like, although Kasher says the play, about a guy's car breaking down in a strange town and spending a week in a local bar (the guy not the car), helped inspire the music. At least the poor guy hasn't gone through another sticky breakup, although it has to be said, Black Out and Album Of The Year are some of the most up-beat songs about love gone sour I have ever heard.

On that note...

::mp3:: Early Out The Gate

::mp3:: I Am An Island

::mp3:: Always A Bridesmaid


Buy some Good Life

More mp3s can be found on the Saddle Creek website.

Read more about Tim skipping town on Pitchfork.

Befriend The Good Life on myspace.

I wonder if Tim will grow that lovely beard back again? Here's hoping... ::sigh::

Playlist # 3: Feeling Gloomy

"I'm Falling down, now the world is upside down"

Dashboard - Modest Mouse
Babies - Pulp
First of the gang - Morrissey
Power out - Arcade Fire
Blue Monday - New Order
The blues are still blue - Belle & Sebastian
Town called malice - The Jam
Disco 2000 - Pulp
Subterranean homesick blues - Bob Dylan
Float on - Modest Mouse
Sit down - James
Girls and boys - Blur
Do you remember the first time? - Pulp
There there - Radiohead
Hero - Bonnie Tyler
Running up that hill - Kate Bush
Smells like teen spirit - Nirvana
Debaser - Pixies
First cut is the deepest - Cat Stevens
Like a rolling stone - Bob Dylan
Yesterday - The Beatles
Nightswimming - REM

Feeling Gloomy night at the Academy Bar, Islington. Remember kids, drinking lots of beer and drunkenly falling off kerbs is not a good idea.

A Few Minutes On Friday

Ok I'm in such a rush I nearly mis-spelled the post title.

Just a quick little post to point out this little Q&A type doofer with Mr Conor Oberst on Drowned in Sound. There's mention of new Desaparacidos material, unfortunately that it might not happen. Argh!

Anyway, it's quite a nice little piece about Cassadaga and Bright Eyes in general. I'm sure the internet is swimming with other interviews like this, even though Conor says he's trying to "space them out" a bit. But I like Drowned in Sound. And I like Conor, so it's a winning combination!

Conor Oberst talks to Drowned in Sound

Clap Your Hands Say Minus The Bear!

Being *ahem* between jobs has been great for my music collection. Combine lots of free time with brand spanking new broadband and you come across all sorts of exciting bits and bobs.

Today I have discovered a new track from Minus the Bear. Dr L'ling is the first song to appear off their new album, Planet of Ice, due for release some time in August I believe. Now, up to recently I was not, shall we say, au fait with 'the Bear' but I must say this song is rather good. Compared to what I've heard of their earlier stuff (Menos El Oso) it's pretty epic and reminds me weirdly of Cave In in places. Who I've never been a big fan of... but this I like.... now I'm confused. Minus The Bear are doing about a million and one dates in the US, check them out here. I guess us Brits just have to wait our turn, eh?

Anyhoo. Another song I'm enjoying at the moment is a track off the first Clap Your Hands Say Yeah album. I think their 'current' lp was out in January (Some Loud Thunder) but it's Over & Over Again (Lost & Found) that made me want to check the band out. The repetitive guitar 'riff' (if you can call it that!) just got stuck in my head, plus I've always had a penchant for blokes with weird voices. And it contains the line "You look like David Bowie" so what's not to love?!



::mp3:: Dr L'ling - Minus The Bear
::mp3:: Hooray - Minus The Bear
::mp3:: Over & Over Again - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah


You will find links to buy these albums on the official websites:

Minus The Bear official
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah official

Playlist # 2 : Hang The DJ

A few songs to celebrate Stu's debut on the "radio" tonight. 11pm on Forest FM *guffaw*

Pumping On Your Stereo - Supergrass
Video Killed The Radio Star - The Buggles
Stereo - Pavement
Anything by Radiohead
Transmission - Joy Division
Signals Over The Air - Thursday
Guerilla Radio - Rage Against The Machine
Fade Out/In - Palo Alto
Riot Radio - Dead 60s
God Is In The Radio - Queens of the Stone Age (hehehe maybe not eh?)
Final Broadcast - Statistics
Good Show - Dive Dive ::mp3::
Why Do They Never Play Les Savy Fav On The Radio? - Jetplane Landing (altho I'm sure they didn't play this OR any Les Savy Fav)
On The Radio - Nelly Furtado (sorry I couldn't resist)

Why Do The Never Play Les Savy Fav On The Radio?

Good question.

As waffled about a couple of days ago, Jetplane Landing release their long-awaited 3rd album Backlash Cop on 4th June. I don't know if it's just me but it always seems that crap bands release far too much and guys like Jetplane don't release nearly enough! OK so I'm pretty excited about this coming out. 'WDTNPLSFOTR?' (not a great acronym I admin but it save my poor typo-addicted fingers) is possibly the most ridiculous song I have heard so far this year, complete with cow bells, hand claps, and amazingly silly guitar riffs from Cahir.

If you've not come across JL before I highly recommend you get their debut Zero For Conduct. You can get it on the Smalltown America website and while you're at it pre-order your copy of Backlash Cop. There's also some other great bands you can check out on Smalltown America like Fickle Public, Oppenheimer and The Young Playthings.

Tracklisting for Backlash Cop
Backlash Cop
White Music
Dizzy Gillespie For President
Lungs Of Punk
Why Do They Never Play Les Savy Fav On The Radio? ::mp3::
The Breaks (Part I & II)
Jamerson Used The Claw
Sam Cooke
Climbing Up The Face Of Miles Davis
Us And The Ringside Stars
Hendrix Sur La Lune
Reprise
Song For Sonia Sanchez

JL myspace
JL official

Playlist # 1 : Total Job

"I'm only working here 'cause I need the chuffing money!"

$$$$ - Desaparecidos
Work - Jimmy Eat World
Pictures of Success - Rilo Kiley
Step Into My Office Baby - Belle & Sebastian
Dark [call] Centre Of The Universe - Modest Mouse
Good Fortune - PJ Harvey
Bank Holiday - Blur
Money - The Beatles
In It For The Money - Supergrass
First Day - The Futureheads
Dollars and Cents - Radiohead
Don't Leave Me Hanging On The Telephone - Blondie
To Hell With Poverty - Gang Of Four

Saturday night looks bad to me

Oppenheimer @ Unit 22, Southampton. 14.04.07

Belfast's electro-indie-pop duo Oppenheimer played Southampton's (supposedly) best indie night yesterday. Stu's review for MintSouth will be up on their myspace sometime this week if he actually gets round to writing it up! Complete with a Q&A courtesy of Rocky Oppenheimer.


The crowd was small but appreciative, especially the more vocal group at the back. It's possible we were the only 4 people who had actually gone with the sole intention of seeing them! You should check them out here -

::myspace::

::official website::

Have a wee listen to my mp3s at the bottom, they are pretty ace.

Hey look he's wearing my Saddle Creek t-shirt, what a clever boy.

The rest of the evening was a bit odd, a case of too many DJs (Soulwax anyone?) spoiling it. There were a few good tunes to dance to though -

• Sun hits the sky by Supergrass


• Patio song by Gorky's Zygotic Mynci


• Australia by The Shins


• Suedehead by Morrissey


• March into the sea and Dashboard by Modest Mouse


• Crystal lake by Grandaddy

Truth be told, Frank Turner did a better job a week last Thursday (5th) when he played Don't stop me now by Queen.

But on the way home we found a slightly dazed looking bloke leaning on a lampost and he gave me one of his sparkly hats. Hurrah for the second hat of fun!




As always here's a few mp3 recommendations. If you like, go buy. Stealing music is decidedly un- groovy and not deserving of the hat of fun.


::mp3:: Oppenheimer - Breakfast in NYC.mp3


::mp3:: Oppenheimer - Saturday looks bad to me.mp3


::mp3:: Gorky's Zygotic Mynci - Patio song.mp3

Buy some Oppenheimer

I woke up with these songs in my head this morning

I really need to think of some post titles that are non-Bright Eyes related or people are going to get the wrong idea...

Anyhoo. I figured even though it's April already I would have a kind of "hurrah for 2007" kind of album fest. Basically these are my favourite albums of the year so far, some from years past (I admit the lack of job has made me a bit lax on buying new CDs recently), and albums I am looking forward to for the rest of the year.

• Wincing the night away by The Shins. This is the silliest album name I have come across in a long time but the music is ace. I highly recommend having a good ole boogie on down to Australia. ::buy::
• The Neon Bible by Arcade Fire. They used 'Keep The Car Running' on Match Of The Day recently which worries me slightly but its still an amazingly crafted album. ::buy::
• This Is My Ship by DARTZ! I have to admit I was a bit confused by DARTZ! at first but after seeing the stage invasion at the Small Town America all dayer last year I realise they are a great band for dancing like a twonk to. Not that I'm saying Dave, Kerryn and Matt danced like twonks.......... or am I?! ::buy::
• Lynn Teeter Flower by Maria Taylor. I'm really loving this and her previous album 11:11 at the moment. Although I'm sure Stu would get freaked out by the debut album title as he always does looking at his watch. Men are weird - beware. ::buy::
• Sleep Is For The Week - Frank Turner. Went to see him play at a local club in Soton last week and in hisd DJ set afterwards Frank played Cake, Dizzy Rascal, At The Drive-In, Weezer and Aphex Twin. It was an odd, odd night to say the least. ::buy::

Other stuff I've been loving recently: Cassadaga & Four Winds EP (duh!), The End Of History - Fionn Regan, Illinoise - Sufjan Stevens, Bring It Back - Mates Of State, We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank - Modest Mouse, Pedro The Lion & Tilly and the Wall.

Stuff I am excited about coming out soon:

• Puzzle by Biffy Clyro - I know this probably makes me sound like a dubious teenage indie/emo kid but I'm quite excited about this. Saturday Superhouse may sound like a Jimmy Eat World rip-off but that's not necessarily a bad thing.
• Bakclash Cop by Jetplane Landing - I've heard one song off this so far and it's completely insane and very wonderful. It's called 'Why Do They Never Play Les Savy Fav On The Radio'. Andrew Ferris may have bad Grandad jumpers (Stu's words not mine) but this song is ace!

A Post To Pass The Time

Ok here goes. I'm starting this blog today because I've had a reasonably good day and also I am a bit bored. Not sure if those two should go together so well but hey.

All good things happening music wise at the mo. My Bright Eyes tickets for Shepherd's Bush Empire arrived this morning, new Bright Eyes album Cassadaga arrived on Tuesday. Damn the Easter bank holiday making it a day late. I'm loving it so much it can't be healthy. I'm sure I'll post some more waffle about it later on.

Also grand stuff for July is Truck 10. Ordered tix yesterday so all I need to do now is clean all last year's mud and dead bugs off the tent.

Today I have mostly been listening to:

• Fionn Regan (thanks Dave - you really are the musical guru)
• Bright Eyes Four Winds EP - I finally got hold of the US tracks
• Cassadaga - yeah I'm obsessed, I'll get over it eventually

So here's a couple of the songs I'm listening to at the moment. These MP3s are just to introduce you people to some lovely music. If you like what you here go buy the album and support these artists!

::mp3:: Bright Eyes - I Must Belong Somewhere.mp3

::buy:: Saddle Creek / Amazon

::mp3::Fionn Regan - Put a penny in the slot.mp3

::buy:: Bella Union / Amazon

Enjoy!